Interview with Sirop du Ingenue
I was scouring etsy for hot items and came across Virginia Paine’s shop, Sirop du Ingenue, which has d.i.y. handmade clothing and these adorable earrings:
Silly Girl Heart Earrings
Here is more about Virginia Paine:
What is your business & what do you do currently?
I run a very diy handmade clothing and accessories company called
Milky Boots Comic
Sirop du Ingenue. I also self-publish comics. I don’t have a ‘real’ job right now, but I always have plenty to do!
How did you get started crafting?
Both of my grandmothers are very crafty, so I think they were my initial influence. I spent a lot of my childhood trying to make realistic tack for my model horses. In high school I worked at a bead shop, which is where I learned how to make jewelry. I didn’t do much crafting after high school, until I took a year off college and moved to Philadelphia. The handmade/DIY movement was really taking off there and it rubbed off on me. Well, that and the fact that I was usually pretty broke! Crafting was a cheap alternative to shopping on South Street. I started knitting and altering shirts and haven’t stopped since.
What are your influences?
My friend Laura Patterson has been both a mentor to
Laura Patterson on Etsy.com
me and a huge influence. I love the sense of whimsy in her designs, and their practicality. My friends, too, are a big influence. I’m very lucky to have a lot of creatively fashionable friends. I always like traditional
Napoleonic dress
cultural dress and historical costume; I have an especially soft spot for1810s Napoleonic dresses. However, I would say that my biggest influence is simply my materials. I use as much recycled and vintage stuff as possible, which limits me but also forces me to be more creative.
What is your favorite thing to make?
Anything that doesn’t have a zipper or buttonholes!
Does your city influence what your make?
I’m a pretty recent arrival in Portland, so I feel like it might take awhile for its influence to appear in my work. The one way Portland has influenced my designs is where I’ve been getting my fabric and beads – from a little vintage/resale store called Rerun a couple blocks from my house.
Thank you Virginia for sharing a bit with me!
Glade
Mother’s Day Card
Mother’s day is coming up soonish. This year Mother’s Day is Sunday May 10th. I’ve been getting cards ready early (finally on top of things!).
I will be posting another Mother’s Day card design later in the week also.
Here is the design:
front
inside
back and envelope
Hope you like it, let me know what you think!
Sweet Fabric!
Thanks to team etsy austin, I found these wonderful alexander henry fabrics online today:
Owls!
- Mod dots
- Sunset!
So amazing, I think I’m gonna have to get some.
Make your own light box!
I stumbled across this tutorial on how to make your own light box. Only $25 to do-it-yourself, rather than a minimum of $100 to buy one. Some of my friends are about to purchase one, so I will let you know the difference when I check theirs out.
diy light box
Bold Fabric Necklaces!
I love these statement necklaces I found on Etsy:
Lovely!
See more bold fabric necklaces here.
Glademade Fragrance: Soft Buzz
Hello Folks!
Today Only: The first 10 to comment will receive a trial size of Soft Buzz fer free!
I decided to try my hand with fragrance. I have been making my own “perfume” for a couple years now, and decided to make a special blend to sell on etsy. If it goes well, I have plenty plenty of smells to add.
This particular fragrance spray is more of a body spray. Soft Buzz is a blend of essential oils mixed with vodka (to absorb resinous oils) and spring water. Essential oils include: Frankincense, Geranium, Chamomile, Rain, and Egyptian Musk. The combination is light, girlie and clean.
Mark did the packaging, which is from a drawing of his that I loved:
For now, I have the trial size up on etsy, and I’ll offer a larger size soon.
Virtual Window Shopping on Etsy
Here are some goodies I found today:
wonderful earrings
handmade backpack!
Happy Monday Y’all!
Stuff I like on my birthday!
This light fixture.
Craft art
That's MY cupcake
- *HAT!* Is it as intense as Aretha’s?
- Beautiful Pearl ring
- crocheted teardrop earrings
- yin YANG!
- I like this skirt.
Biznazty: A *small* small business club
One thing that has kept me motivated for the past two months has been starting a club for my small business friends, called Biznazty, to get together and productively talk about issues we are facing. We are all at the very beginning stage of starting a business. We are meeting once a month currently. The first meeting was in February, and we talked a lot about Etsy. The second meeting was focusing on Press Releases.
I will attempt to post a few good lessons from each meeting as they happen.
February:
Get a financial adviser at your bank! Your bank should have a small business adviser to help you and give you tips. If you can’t find this service at your bank, you should probably find a bank that has this service.
March:
A member of the group Cathy, with Sacred Soil (organic gardening), went to a *free* press release class at Big Austin. They have 2-3 free workshops a week. This is an incredible resource.